On Thursday, the fashion bible released its July cover image with the Kenyan actress. Inside, the 31-year-old Oscar winner discusses her transformative year that started with a dramatic role in the historical drama “12 Years a Slave.”

“I was really nervous about seeing myself in ’12 Years a Slave’ because it had been such a profound experience in all ways,” said the “Star Wars” actress. “I remember it being one of the most joyful times in my life — and also one of the most sorrowful. I didn’t want my experience to be a vain one…”

Since launching into stardom, Lupita says her life has become surreal — light-years away from her pants-and-sweatshirt days in college. “It just makes me feel like the entertainment industry exploded into my life,” said Nyong’o.

“People who seemed so distant all of a sudden were right in front of me and recognizing me — before I recognized them!”

Another clue that her life was forever changing: the paparazzi. Leaving the airport and on her way to the SAG Awards in January, Nyong’o was startled by the shutterbugs.

“For a split second I looked behind me to see who they were flashing at — and it was me!” she recalls. “That was, I think, the beginning of the end of my anonymity.”